Overall Oxbridge
#1,785
1 ranked schools · -871 places vs Eng avg #914 of 1,983
Applications
15
Offers
1
Offer rate6.7%
-15.7 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 22.4%
Schools in Barnsley
Stone-fronted civic buildings ring a compact market square at the centre of Barnsley, a South Yorkshire market town of around 71,000 people whose nineteenth-century economy was built on coal mining, linen weaving, and glass-making. The brass band tradition those mining communities created survives today. The wider metropolitan borough, home to some 244,600 residents, extends through a run of former colliery villages now reshaped as suburban and semi-rural communities.
Gawber, to the north-west of the centre, is among the most sought-after pockets for primary school catchments, while Darton has long been a school-competitive corner of the borough's northern arc. Cawthorne, Dodworth, and Hoyland spread the residential reach south and west, connected to Sheffield and Leeds via regular rail services at Barnsley interchange.
64
Primary
schools
8
Secondary
schools
1
All-through
schools
2
Post-16
colleges
4
Special
schools
1
Other
schools
of which2sixth forms·15faith80 total
Area Performance
Barnsley schools rank in the top 50% of England
Across 73 primary and secondary schools, state and independent. The average Find My School Inspection Score is 7.21/10, -0.14 vs England.
Find My School Inspection Band
8% Elite
Distribution across all Barnsley schools
EliteExcellentGoodDevelopingRebuilding
Barnsley vs England distribution
National Rank
Top 50%
Across all ranked Barnsley schools
Top 47%Primaryavg #7,079 of 14,978
Top 69%Secondaryavg #2,660 of 3,862
Primary schools: 64 schools (state + independent)
LocalEngland avg
Average FMS Inspection Score
7.2/10
-0.11 vs Eng avgEng avg 7.3/10
Average national rank
#7,079
+3 pts vs medianmedian 7,489
top 47% of 14,978
% reaching expected RWM standardstate
66%
+4 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 62%
% reaching higher RWM standardstate
8%
0 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 8%
Average FMS Inspection Score
7.2/10
-0.11 vs Eng avgEng avg 7.3/10
Average national rank
#7,079
+3 pts vs medianmedian 7,489
top 47% of 14,978
% reaching expected RWM standardstate
66%
+4 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 62%
% reaching higher RWM standardstate
8%
0 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 8%
Secondary schools: 9 schools (state + independent)
LocalEngland avg
Average FMS Inspection Score
7.1/10
-0.33 vs Eng avgEng avg 7.4/10
Average national rank
#2,660
-19 pts vs medianmedian 1,931
top 69% of 3,862
Attainment 8 score (out of 90)state
44.6
+5.5 vs Eng avgEng avg 39.1
Average FMS Inspection Score
7.1/10
-0.33 vs Eng avgEng avg 7.4/10
Average national rank
#2,660
-19 pts vs medianmedian 1,931
top 69% of 3,862
Attainment 8 score (out of 90)state
44.6
+5.5 vs Eng avgEng avg 39.1
Oxford
#287
1 ranked schools · -34 places vs Eng avg #253 of 1,197
Applications
11
Offers
0
Offer rate0.0%
-15.1 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 15.1%
Cambridge
#1,315
1 ranked schools · -542 places vs Eng avg #773 of 1,880
Applications
4
Offers
1
Offer rate25.0%
-4.4 pts vs Eng avgEng avg 29.4%
Top 3 Primary Schools
2026
Barnsley
Top 3 Secondary Schools
2026
Barnsley
1 Sixth Form
2026
Barnsley
Local directory
School profiles in Barnsley
Browse 75 local profile links across primary schools, secondary schools and sixth forms. Each profile brings together admissions context, performance data, inspection history and school details in one place.
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